Mosquito Bites and Flashlights

Days like these I'm reminded of the limitations of blogging, of these words to keep up with the changes life brings. Nein-the-less, I'll recap just a bit.

Went camping. No bears. Lots of mosquitoes. Swam for approx. 3.5 seconds in a freezing cold pool of beautifully clean water next to a waterfall. Hiked. Slept on wooden planks. Shared a sleeping bag with creepy crawlers. Hit a few ringers. Made s'mores with 1 graham cracker, 3 pieces of Hershey's Milk Chocolate and two Marshmallows. Ate hot dogs (real pork ones). Didn't die. Did a cartwheel for the first time in 8 months. Broke a bottle of wine in my backpack. Maintained sanity when my cell phone didn't work (because it was soaked in wine). Drank McDonald's coffee for the first (and last) time. Set up a six person tent with Emma faster than the four boys could build a fire. Was attacked by gypsy moth caterpillars. Got use out of my miniature cell-phone flashlight. Woke up half the campsite with collective barnyard noises (of which Jesse's "moo" was most popular). Searched for snails and washed up fish along the lake shore. Learned what a "steam roller" was. Learned some new cussin' words in Spanish. Watched a fire die. Sported a badass "Git-R-done" Larry the Cable Guy bandana until that, too, was soaked in wine. Drank summer ale in the rain. Tried to differentiate between shooting stars and lightening bugs. Rebuked weather.com. Walked a bike trail. Ogled over antiques, of which my favorite was an old-fashioned meat grinder. Ate half a corn muffin, which was bad, but at least at this place the coffee was decent. Browsed Waiting for Godot in an overpriced book shop. Ate grilled bare corn straight down to the cob. Smoked half of one Marlboro red. Didn't crave more.

But I am craving more... camping. Good experience. My only complaint is that I was eaten alive by mosquitoes. I look like I have leprosy. And my right wrist is still swollen from a bite incurred over 48 hours ago. I got back yesterday morning, took a very long, very hot shower and then a fruitless nap. I woke up to find Jane on the couch in our living room, at which point I climbed on top of her and went back to sleep. I've missed Jane. Bower brought home pizza, of which he offered me a slice, and I accepted, thus spoiling my appetite for dinner. He also brought home Friday's sundae cups for everyone. I ate that too. We all went to Ocean Palace and the only thing I could get down were two fortune cookies and a Tsing-tao. I got an entree anyway, ate a bite and offered the rest to the group.

Pause here. I don't have time to describe this dinner in length. It wasn't particularly long or special. But somewhere towards the end I got this feeling that made me smile. A simple one: a feeling that it was nice to have all of us together. So easy and relaxed. It felt like... home. And that's saying a lot for a girl who doesn't quite have one.

The rest of the evening involved a documentary called "The Grizzly Man" (don't see it), acoustic guitar serenades, French lessons and tongue twisters.

Woke up at 11:30 this morning and have a ten page paper to write. C'est la vie.